CONCACAF is broken down into three sub-regions, but for the most part North America continues to dominate Central America and the Caribbean. No team from outside North America ever has lifted the Gold Cup, and a Mexican team has won the CONCACAF Champions League crown. Despite Costa Rica's rise to CONCACAF giant and consecutive World Cup appearances by Honduras, power in the club game seemed to be continuing to swing north. That idea gained steam from the 2015-16 CCL quarterfinals, which pitted four Liga MX teams against four MLS counterparts.
This year, however, Central America has struck back with a vengeance, and the final week of the CCL could see as many as six Central American teams into the quarterfinals.